


within the mist, i wait for you.

by decaf and sleep (kohiii)



Category: Vampire Knight (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Historical, Author Is Sleep Deprived, But it's hard to tell, For reasons, M/M, One-Sided Relationship, Requited Love, To be continued...?, Vague semblance of plot, but not really, hard to tell because as mentioned, loosely based on historical china and japan, no beta we die like dead people, sorry - Freeform, zero is kind of brain dead sorry, zero is not all there
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-19
Updated: 2020-10-19
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:13:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,714
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27098659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kohiii/pseuds/decaf%20and%20sleep
Summary: on that day, he made a promise. and even if the promise had done nothing more than take him down a path of misery and pain, kaname would still walk the same path over and over again.
Relationships: Kiryuu Zero & Kuran Kaname, Kiryuu Zero/Kuran Kaname
Comments: 6
Kudos: 28





	within the mist, i wait for you.

"Tenno-heika, I'm sorry to interrupt you in the middle of your meeting, but I'm afraid that the Yuehua has gone missing again." 

The dark-haired emperor looked up from his meeting with his generals at the servant's panicked message, his amused smile slowly slipping off his face. Kaname had been entertaining himself with the generals' war plans, but with their imminent victory on the horizon, Kaname was more than content to allow his court to decide on their strategic maneuvers for the forthcoming battle. As a dark look flashed across Kaname's face, he could see the young man pale in dread. 

"Again?" he asked silkily, rising from his throne slowly. "I thought I told you to station more guards around his room after what happened last time." 

The servant gulped, his frame shaking but not daring to take a step back from his emperor's predatory advance. 

"This lowly one begs for your forgiveness!" 

The young man dropped into a kowtow, his head meeting the floor with such force that the other servants in the room couldn't help but flinch in pained sympathy at the sight. It was well-known in the palace that Kaname's moods grew volatile whenever it came to the subject of his precious person. As such, no one wanted to be the bearer of bad news whenever something happened to said precious person. 

Quelling his burst of anger at the servants' sheer ineptitude, Kaname sighed. 

"Aido." 

The brilliant young military strategist perked up. "Tenno-heika!" 

"I'll leave tomorrow's battle plans to you. I have more pressing matters to take care of." 

He could almost _hear_ the blond's beam, even with his back turned to his generals. 

"I won't disappoint you, Tenno-heika!" 

With that minor affair settled, Kaname passed by the quivering servant, still bowed in prostrate form, and left the throne room. 

\--

For a few silent moments, Kaname lingered by the doorway and stared out into the courtyard. The sight of his beloved sitting on the withered cherry tree's branches brought to mind an unpleasant childhood memory, and Kaname couldn't help but feel as if it was an ominous sign of things to come. But that was no matter -- there was no point in worrying himself about needless things, and Kaname would not allow anything like that to happen ever again. 

"Zero," he called out softly as he approached the pale figure. "Why did you leave your room? You know it's not safe to wander around by yourself."

Pale purple eyes flickered down briefly to him before they drifted back up. 

Kaname frowned. 

Casting aside his heavy robes, Kaname slowly climbed up the withered tree until he reached the branch his beloved was sitting on. Zero's gaze was still fixated on the moon, and even when Kaname sat down next to him the pale man still refused to acknowledge the emperor's presence. 

Perhaps once upon a time that would've incited a jealous hurt in him, but by now Kaname was already to used to Zero's indifference and silence. After all, Kaname knew that it was hardly his beloved's fault that things were now like this.

"I wish you would take along your aide at least," Kaname murmured at last, feeling both hurt and soothed by his precious one. Even after all these years, Zero still remained the only one who could truly move him. "Then I'd worry less." 

And yet there was still no response. 

With each passing day, Kaname could feel the gulf between them widen. Zero was fading from the world, and Kaname very much feared that one day he would wake up to only find that Zero had become nothing more than a fleeting memory. 

Wrapping his arms around the silent man, Kaname gently eased Zero onto his lap and held onto the cold figure tightly. "It's almost over," he said quietly, a firm conviction in his voice. "I'll make them pay for what they did to you. And then we can leave together, somewhere far away from this cursed place." 

But of course, there was no answer. 

\--

"Will it ever bloom again?" 

Kaname looked up at the rare sound of his beloved's voice. Zero had once again drifted from his side, and instead he was looking out the window at the cherry tree. 

"I doubt it," Kaname responded at long last, trying to commit the memory of this very moment to heart. It was hard to tell when Zero would have one of his more lucid moments, and it made Kaname treasure every little interaction they had. "The tree has never bloomed again after --" he cut himself off before he could finish his sentence. 

There were some things that were too painful to be brought up. 

But it was already too late, and he could see Zero's eyes light up in recognition.

"Kuruizaki-hime," Zero murmured. 

They both fell silent in remembrance of the enchantingly strange woman that had once graced these halls. For Kaname, Hio Shizuka would always remain a mystery, but he was forever indebted to her for bringing Zero into his life. He didn't doubt that her name invoked far less pleasant memories for Zero, however. 

To his father's court, Shizuka had been _Kuruizaki-hime_ and _Yuehua,_ seemingly flattering titles that hid the ugly nature of what they truly were. But to Kaname, she would always remain _Shizuka-san,_ the tragic and sly woman who had condemned him to a fate arguably worse than death. 

Kaname wouldn't have it any other way. 

Even if he had to wage war against the very heavens, Kaname would not hesitate. He had many regrets in his life, but the path he had chosen to walk was not one of them. 

"You should discard useless things," Zero murmured halfheartedly, turning his melancholic gaze back at Kaname. _You should discard me,_ Kaname heard. "Isn't it a burden to sustain something that is already lifeless?" 

"Zero," he sighed, frowning at Zero's underdressed state and how the other man's thin frame trembled from the cold drafts in the room. Kaname rose from his seat and walked over to the window. He shrugged off the outer layer of his ceremonial robes and draped the ornament garment around his beloved, hoping that it imparted some of his warmth. "Lifeless isn't the right word." 

Sometimes, he could still catch a glimpse of the fiery spirit that once blazed brightly within Zero. Before things had changed. Before they had been forcibly separated, before those bastards had committed the unforgivable sin of using his beloved for their own goals. 

There was a wry twist to Zero's smile. "Isn't it?" 

"No," Kaname shook his head, and this time he was unwavering in his conviction. "Simply lost. Waiting to return home." 

He reached out with pale fingers, tilting Zero's face up to look at him. Perhaps it was his wishful thinking, but Kaname fancied that he could almost see a flicker of hope in the other man's dull purple eyes. 

"I will return you home." 

\--

That night, Kaname dreamt of a distant memory. 

_"Shizuka-san, why do you like this tree so much?"_

_Kaname stared up at the pale woman who was perched high up on a branch his smaller form could not reach. Zero had approached him earlier, teary-eyed and frantic about his missing guardian. Kaname had promised the younger boy that he would help look for Shizuka and sent Zero back to his wing of the palace with an escort._

_As Kaname had surmised, Shizuka had made herself comfortable on the withered cherry tree in his father's wing of the palace. It was hardly the first time he found her here, and each time he had to coax her back to where Zero waited for her. This spot was a secret between the two of them -- his father was too busy and rarely visited his own villa, and Zero never stepped foot in this wing of the palace out of deference to the emperor._

_The cherry tree was an oddity -- it was a withered old thing that was meant to be replaced. But Shizuka had been oddly drawn to the tree the moment she laid eyes on it, and per her request his father had left the tree alone. And as Shizuka spent time with it, it slowly started to flower again. The first time a pink bloom sprouted, Shizuka had stared up at the strange sight with a bitter twist to her smile. Kaname didn't understand what had caused such a reaction from the normally mischievous woman, but he refrained from asking._

_The pale figure in the tree beckoned him closer, and Kaname took a few wary steps forward._

_"Kaname-kun, will you make me a promise?" she asked him, ignoring his question entirely. He was captivated by her pale pink eyes, and he felt helplessly trapped under the strength of her gaze._

_Kaname nodded numbly._

_"Please take care of Zero."_

_He was caught off guard._

_Her request befuddled him. Did he and his father not already agree to do so when they took in the two of them?_

_"I like Suzaku-kyo," Shizuka continued, smiling amusedly at his look of confusion. "The people here are kind, and they live carefree lives under your father's benevolent rule." Her expression darkened. "But Qingyu isn't like that. Their peace is nothing more than a corrupt illusion. Sooner or later, they will come for the Yuehua."_

_There was that term again. Kaname had heard of it in passing, but when he asked his father what it meant he had received a gentle shake of the head and an admonishment that children should not be poking their noses where it did not belong._

_"That child can still be saved," Shizuka continued, a strain in her voice. Her form was tense, rigid with some unknown tension. "You must promise me that you will never let him go."_

_All of a sudden, he felt crushed by the weight of the promise she was asking him to commit to._

_"I promise," Kaname managed to say at last._

_At that, the heavy atmosphere eased up and Shizuka leaned back against the trunk of the tree with a coy smile. "Good, young prince. Remember your promise. Now leave me be."_

_He left the courtyard, bewildered._

_It wasn't until the envoy from Qingyu arrived that Kaname understood just what he had committed himself to._

**Author's Note:**

> uhhh here, have a random thing that may or may not be continued? lots of implied plot points and stuff. sorry for the corny naming conventions, my brain couldn't come up with anything better 
> 
> terms:  
> \- tenno-heika: your imperial highness, a way to address the emperor  
> \- yuehua: literally "moon flower", a title  
> \- kuruizaki-hime: literally "flowers-blooming-out-of-season princess", a nickname  
> \- suzaku-kyo: the name of the fictional empire kaname (and previously, haruka) rules over (literally "vermillion bird capital")  
> \- qingyu: the name of the fictional kingdom suzaku-kyo is waging war against, shizuka and zero's birthplace (literally "green jade")
> 
> now that i have updated, bleeding wing needs to update thanks xddd


End file.
